The DICT Development Group
5 definitions found
for lessening
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Lessen \Less"en\ (l[e^]s"'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lessened
(-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lessening.] [From Less, a.]
To make less; to reduce; to make smaller, or fewer; to
diminish; to lower; to degrade; as, to lessen a kingdom, or a
population; to lessen speed, rank, fortune.
[1913 Webster]
Charity . . . shall lessen his punishment. --Calamy.
[1913 Webster]
St. Paul chose to magnify his office when ill men
conspired to lessen it. --Atterbury.
Syn: To diminish; reduce; abate; decrease; lower; impair;
weaken; degrade.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
lessening \lessening\ adj.
becoming less in dimension or degree; as, the lessening
distance between us.
[WordNet 1.5]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
lessening \lessening\ n.
a change downward; a decrease; a reduction.
Syn: decrease, drop-off.
[WordNet 1.5]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
lessening
n 1: a change downward; "there was a decrease in his temperature
as the fever subsided"; "there was a sharp drop-off in
sales" [syn: decrease, lessening, drop-off] [ant:
increase]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
111 Moby Thesaurus words for "lessening":
abatement, abating, abridgment, allaying, allayment, alleviating,
alleviation, analgesia, anesthesia, anesthetizing, appeasement,
assuagement, assuaging, attenuation, attrition, blunting, calming,
chastening, contraction, contractive, curtailment, cushioning, cut,
cutting, dampening, damping, deadening, declining, decrease,
decreasing, decrement, decrescence, decrescendo, decrescent,
deduction, deflation, deliquescent, demulsion, depletion,
depreciation, depression, derogation, detraction, diminishing,
diminishment, diminuendo, diminution, dip, disparagement,
dulcification, dulling, dwindling, dying, dying off, ease,
easement, easing, extenuation, extraction, fade-out, falling-off,
hushing, impairment, languishing, languishment, leniency, letdown,
letup, lightening, loosening, lowering, lulling, miniaturization,
mitigating, mitigation, modulation, mollification, numbing,
on the wane, pacification, palliation, quietening, quieting,
reducing, reduction, reductive, relaxation, relaxing, relief,
remedy, remission, retraction, retrenchment, sagging, salving,
scaling down, shortening, shrinkage, simplicity, slackening,
softening, soothing, subduement, subduing, subsiding, subtraction,
tempering, tranquilization, truncation, waning, weakening
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